Hard to think of anything but Hayley this week. And we still don't have a diagnosis. She has an amazing friend in Sarah Thrasher, that much we know. And family and friends who love her. And great missionaries who decided on their own to pray for her.
On a lighter note, the longer our days, the more grateful we are that we can get our hands on Coke Zero down here. Oh, and I lost the first mission wide arm wrestling championship. In the first round. To an Elder who is half my size.
So much going on. The missionaries here have been in the habit of teaching the 3rd lesson first, and we decided to teach the first lesson first, unless the Spirit dictates otherwise, which is consistent with the missionary handbook. That's the "Restoration of the Gospel" lesson. And we want them to teach it with the pamphlets provided by the Church. Some of our missionaries are struggling with the change. But one decided he liked it when he taught the Restoration first and the woman he was teaching, recognizing the picture of Joseph Smith's vision, said "hey, I was baptized into your Church when I was a girl. But we moved and I've never been able to find the Church again". Now they're teaching her husband, son and brother, none of whom are members of the Church. And the missionary reports that the connection never would've been made without teaching the first lesson first. As Harper would say, "weird, follow the rules and things work out."
I am trying like mad to get the English speaking missionaries to teach English to the Spanish speaking missionaries. There's a certificate program for those who learn sufficient English, and it helps lift them into better schools and jobs after their missions. In a twist, I learned yesterday that two Spanish speaking missionaries who are companions make each other do push ups if either of them speaks Spanish in their apartment. That's how bad some of them want to learn English. And I can't get some of the English speaking missionaries to slow down enough to teach what is so easy for them? Gonna keep working on them.
We never feel threatened, probably because we're with the missionaries. Our missionaries don't think it's any big deal to be robbed, happens all the time. And they shrugged when I told them that yesterday authorities found 13 dead bodies near our mission office. It's a tragedy, but life here is tragic for many people. The Lord sent some tough young people here.
That's all for now. The storms have backed off and the days and evenings are pleasant, the countryside very green. We wish that we could get to the missionary training center in Mexico City to greet some of the young people from back home who are arriving there to prepare for their missions. But it's too far, and too much traffic. Neat to see their pictures, though, and to hear about them greeting each other.
Praying that we get some good news on Hayley today.
